


Second Chances

by coulter_324b21 (harrypotter137)



Category: His Dark Materials (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28543557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrypotter137/pseuds/coulter_324b21
Summary: What if the conversation between Lyra and Marisa went differently in 2×05?  And what if Marisa went so far as to have Lyra ask the alethiometer if her intentions were pure?  Is Mrs. Coulter finally ready to change her ways and become a better person for Lyra? Only the alethiometer knows.What I believe would've happened if Mrs. Coulter owned up to her mistakes and dropped the manipulation act long enough to prove to Lyra that her mother is not the monster she thinks she is (at least when it comes to her daughter).
Relationships: Lyra Belacqua & Marisa Coulter
Comments: 24
Kudos: 56





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fic so try to keep your expectations low lol. This is basically just my version of the episode with more honesty and less daemon on daemon violence. It follows canon to a point but seeing as I'm swapping out the daemon brawl for a heart to heart the story is definitely canon divergent. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!! Please be gentle with me and try to keep in mind that I'm a newb at this!!

Mrs. Coulter's eyes had been glued to Boreal's surveillance monitor from the moment she first caught sight of Lyra on the screen. Her vision tunneled as she surveyed the younger brunette; who had her complete and rapt attention. She didn't dare risk a single blink for fear of her child spontaneously disappearing before her eyes.

Marisa Coulter was not a woman easily shaken by any stretch of the imagination; years of painstaking practice throughout her childhood had made sure of that. Yet here she was, wringing her hands and hoping beyond hope that the child she had sacrificed everything for would finally—and willingly—take her place at her side. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥.

Boreal had gone to answer the door while Mrs. Coulter stayed behind to keep watch over the monitor. As much as she would've liked to have been the one to greet Lyra herself; she was not naive enough to act on this impulse. She would only spook the poor girl into running off again. No, she had to let Lyra come to her this time.

Letting her mind wander, she allowed herself a satisfied smile at the possibility of her plan finally coming together. The unfortunate—albeit necessary—alliance she had forged with Boreal was at long last bearing fruit. Lyra was mere moments away from being within her reach for the first time since their disastrous reunion at the Station.

She returned her focus to the monitor as she began to examine her daughter more closely.

No new detail about the girl was lost on Mrs. Coulter. Poring over her pictures every day since they'd been apart had given her ample opportunity to memorize every last feature. As a result, tears instantly began to well up in her eyes and roll down her cheeks as she took in just how much her daughter had grown.

Her first observation was the fact that Lyra was now noticeably taller than she'd been when they'd last met. Her hair was a bit longer as well; just brushing her collarbone. Upon realizing this, she shook her head fondly and smiled in recognition of how similar her daughter's hair now looked to her own; with her wavy dark locks resting in perfect curls around her shoulders.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, she thought, eyes still fixed on her child's beautiful face. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮. She only needed Lyra to trust her enough to give her that chance.

Mrs. Coulter watched with bated breath as Boreal finally came into frame. There was no audio, unfortunately, so she wasn't able to hear what was being said between them. Marisa was forced to follow the tone of the conversation using only what she could discern from mouthed lips and facial expressions.

She couldn't help but feel a swell of pride at the sight of Lyra's unwavering defiance; completely undeterred by Boreal's towering presence. She didn't appear to be intimidated by him in the slightest. Quite the opposite, as she stood her ground and looked up at the fully grown man with a steely glare that could shoot daggers with its intensity.

Without warning, she was suddenly hit with a wave of fury on behalf of her daughter; as it was Boreal's audacious blackmail and manipulation that had lured her here in the first place. She had been so caught up in finding her child by any means necessary that she hadn't stopped to assess the duplicity of Boreal's methods.

It was a true testament to Marisa's love for her daughter that she had even agreed to take part in Boreal's schemes to begin with. She never would've relinquished the upper hand to Boreal or any other if it hadn't been for the knowledge he had on Lyra's whereabouts. The leverage he had been using against her was infuriating all on its own, but seeing him use that same kind of coercion on her 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳...

She forced herself to swallow the boiling rage that had threatened to escape her; this was not the time to let her feelings get the best of her. She needed to stay calm in order to restore Lyra's trust in her.

Despite this desire to quell her emotions, she felt increasingly impatient and restless. As eager as she was to have her child back, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive at the prospect of explaining herself to her daughter in a way that she would accept and understand.

All she knew was that failure simply wasn't an option. She needed to make it right this time; and she would do whatever it took to make that happen.

She glanced at the golden monkey just then. Unsurprisingly, he had no reassurances to offer, rather a look of uncertainty in return .

She cast a scowl at him in reply as she steeled herself for what was to come.

"I won't let her slip from my grasp again," she shot back at him angrily, turning away from her monkey's doubtful expression and back to the monitor; where her eyes landed on Lyra's face once more.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵.

***

She was abruptly broken from her reverie as her daemon alerted her to another presence in the other room. Someone who was clearly not Lyra was sneaking about in Boreal's living area.

𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, the monkey signaled to her.

She huffed in protest, not wanting to take her eyes off her child even for a minute.

𝘐𝘧 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦...

Begrudgingly, she tore her eyes away from the screen and unstuck herself from her firm position in front of the monitor to investigate her monkey's suspicions.

She entered the adjacent room, scanning her surroundings carefully. Seeing nothing, she sent the monkey a questioning look. Despite her silent accusation, he remained quite adamant about what he had seen. And, as much as she hated to admit to it, she had no reason to distrust his observational skills.

Before she could stop herself, she was struck with an unbidden memory from her childhood. Back to a time when her monkey had acted as her own personal lookout; preemptively warning her of one of her mother's impending rampages.

He had always been the first of them to sense her drawing near. And that advance warning had bought her the time to prepare herself for whatever punishment her mother had in store for her that day.

She shook off the unwelcomed memory and composed herself before heading back to the surveillance room. Feigning ignorance, she turned her attention back to the monitor and pretended not to sense anything amiss.

Before Marisa could cut him off again, the golden monkey seized this opportunity to clarify himself.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘢. He intuited. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳!

Of course, Marisa realized bitterly, her jaw tightening involuntarily. This must be the boy Lyra's been traveling with.

She looked down at her daemon, speaking to him through nonverbal communication. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘩𝘮𝘮?

The golden monkey naturally inferred what she had meant by this as he made his way into the living room.

The monkey waited like a predator stalking his prey as the boy reached for the alethiometer. Just as his fingers grazed the edges of the compass, the daemon sprang up and snatched it away; causing the boy to jump back and yell out in alarm.

"Stay back, it's going to attack!" He shouted as Mrs Coulter approached. The boy was evidently unaware that they were two halves of the same whole.

"Hello," Mrs Coulter said, her eyes glinting darkly. "You must be Lyra's new friend."

"Who are you?" He demanded, brandishing his knife at her; not remotely comprehending what he had gotten himself into.

She thanked the golden monkey perfunctorily as he passed the alethiometer over to her; his human's stare fixed on the boy across from them.

"Lyra is my daughter," She said plainly, turning the alethiometer in her hands. "And I'm here to bring her home."

Before Will had time to digest this, a sudden commotion from above distracted them both and they diverted their attention to the door leading up to the staircase.

"Will!" Lyra exclaimed as she burst through the door, Boreal not far behind.

"Lyra!" He shouted back as Boreal locked the door behind himself.

She ran down the steps towards the boy before abruptly halting in her tracks, her gaze locking on her mother's. Her eyes widened with shock as recognition dawned on her. Horror-stricken, she immediately started to scramble backwards up the stairs.

"Lyra." Mrs Coulter breathed, unable to believe that her child was really standing there before her. She felt an unexpected twinge in her heart at the sight of her daughter's terrified face. She moved towards her in an effort meant to comfort her, but before her mother could take another step in her direction; she wheeled around and tripped her way back up the stairs.

But Boreal was ready for that; spinning her back around to face her mother once more. Under normal circumstances, Mrs. Coulter would've been fueled with unbridled rage at the sight of Boreal daring to place his hands on the girl; but she was too mesmerized at the moment to give it much thought.

"Lyra." Mrs Coulter said again, more strength in her voice this time. Her posture betrayed her however, as her hands were clasped together in an uncharacteristically vulnerable manner.

Regardless of her fears, she was intent on getting her point across to her daughter before she attempted to flee again.

"Please, sit down." She asked softly. Not a demand, but a request she desperately wished for Lyra to grant her. She sat down herself and motioned for her daughter to do the same.

Marisa was vaguely aware of the heated altercation happening between Boreal and Lyra's new companion, but she paid it little attention. It was nothing more than background noise as far as she was concerned.

The alethiometer in hand, she extended her arm and gingerly held the compass between them. An offering.

She waited in silence for Lyra to reach for it, hoping for her to see this gesture as an act of good faith.

"Here. This is yours. Take it." She said gently.

Lyra hesitated, believing this peace offering to be some kind of trick.

This did not go unnoticed by her mother, who pressed on. "I assure you, I have no use for it. It's of little importance to me. I'm only here for you."

Eyes pricked with tears, Lyra shook her head vehemently; refusing to fall for another one of the traps she believed her mother was setting her up for.

If only Lyra knew how alike she and her mother truly were. Mrs. Coulter couldn't blame her for this guarded behavior of course; it's exactly how Marisa herself would handle this situation if she were on the other end of it.

On the contrary, part of her was secretly pleased to discover another similarity they both shared. She only wished that Lyra didn't feel the need to exhibit this behavior on her own mother.

"Darling, please try to understand. I know I haven't made it easy for you to trust me—"

Lyra's eyes narrowed at her then. Mrs. Coulter felt crushed under the weight of hatred and disgust etched across her child's face. But she couldn't let that discourage her. She was determined to make her understand just how far she was willing to go to earn back her trust.

"Please, let me explain. I've crossed through worlds to be with you. I'm not...saying that to make you feel indebted to me—" She added quickly, not wanting to give Lyra the wrong idea.

Although it was true that she had given up everything in search of her daughter; she would do it all again without a second's hesitation if it meant having Lyra back in her life. "I only mean to convey the depth of my devotion to you." She finished, her voice breaking roughly as she said the words.

"And why would I trust you?" Lyra cried, the tears she had been holding back beginning to rapidly stream down her face.

Seeing her daughter looking at her with such hurt and betrayal filled Marisa's entire being with more shame and regret than she had ever experienced in her life. The knowledge that Marisa was the one to cause her such pain and sadness was almost too much to bear, but she had no choice but to push through it.

"I know you won't believe me, sweetheart, but I'm only trying to protect you." Mrs. Coulter asserted, emphasizing every last word so there wasn't a shadow of a doubt in Lyra's mind that she meant it.

Lyra still seemed hesitant. Noticing how her daughter looked prepped to run and not wanting to give Lyra the chance to work out an escape route; she hastened to get to the crux of the matter.

"Lyra. Please listen to me, if you still have any doubts about my intentions, you need only ask your alethiometer. Ask it about my feelings for you, if I truly care for you. If you detect any deception from me, I promise I will leave you be and you won't ever have to see me again."

Saying the words caused a deep ache in her chest, despite knowing that she never would've made such a promise if she hadn't already known what the answer would be.

Lyra let her guard down a bit as she looked down at the alethiometer in Mrs. Coulter's outstretched hand, considering her offer. She still seemed reluctant, but her desire to have her device back must have outweighed her lack of trust regarding Marisa's motives. Tentatively, she reached out to take the alethiometer into her own hands.

Relieved to have the device back in her possession but wary of the circumstances in which she received it, she glanced from the alethiometer to Mrs. Coulter then back again.

As Lyra began to turn the hands on the dial—apparently to pose a question she chose not to say aloud—Marisa stood gazing at her daughter in sheer amazement.

The stare that had come over the girl's face was one of utmost concentration; one she couldn't have imagined a child her age of being capable.

It was remarkable.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 was remarkable.

After a long moment, Lyra finally snapped the alethiometer closed and stuffed it into her front pocket before addressing Mrs. Coulter.

"It told me...that what you say about protecting me is true," She faltered, unsure of how to proceed.

"I also asked it if you even care for me at all." She shrugged, feeling uncomfortable and insecure. And it told me that...you really do love me." She frowned as though she were confused and conflicted with what to do with that information.

It took every bit of strength that Marisa had left in her to keep from collapsing to the floor in overwhelming relief. Lyra finally knew the truth.

"You see?" Mrs. Coulter said hoarsely, her voice strained from the effort of choking back sobs.

"Everything I've done since you came back into my life has been for you. I love you, Lyra. Infinitely more than anything or anyone in this world or any other."

Lyra's body began to shake as she could no longer contain her sobs; her initial attempt at holding back tears now seemingly forgotten.

As though frustrated at her own display of emotion, she wiped the tracks of tears roughly off her cheeks.

"You love me, but that doesn't change who you are!" She wept, her voice cracking in a heartbreaking declaration of sorrow.

"You've done awful things to people. Countless children were stolen from their families and severed from their daemons! Billy Costa and Roger are dead because of you!" Lyra was sobbing uncontrollably at this point, her eyes cast to the floor so as not to meet her mother's gaze.

For the first time in her life, Mrs. Coulter was utterly speechless. Everything the girl had said to her was true, there was no use denying it. She wanted so badly to reach out and console her daughter, but knew that Lyra would only push her away. If she truly wanted her trust, she needed to earn it. She had to be honest with her.

"You're absolutely right." Mrs. Coulter admitted.

Lyra's head whipped up just then as she gaped at her mother incredulously. She hadn't expected her to take responsibility for her mistakes.

"I have caused so much suffering and destroyed so many lives. I will have to carry that burden for as long as I live. I cannot excuse it and I wouldn't be able to if I tried. But I do feel I owe you an explanation if you're ever to understand what I've put you through. There's no justification for my actions whatsoever, but I need you to know that I wasn't always this way."

Lyra's eyes stung with tears as her mother's words began piercing through her protected heart.

"Out with it then." She said curtly, trying and failing to sound indifferent.

Mrs. Coulter let out a woeful sigh. There was so much she needed to tell her, but she just didn't know how to find the words. What could she possibly say to express how deeply remorseful she was for hurting her?

She would've had to condense a lifetime of hardship for Lyra to even begin to fathom what she had to become to survive. A past she did not wish to revisit, but knew had to be done. If it would help Lyra in any way, then it didn't matter how painful it was for her mother to delve back into those memories.

"When I was a child," She started carefully, "My daemon and I were the closest of friends." Mrs. Coulter felt the golden monkey shift uncomfortably at her side.

"As I grew older, we began to drift farther apart from one another. I've told you about my experience as an emotional child, but I don't think I properly expressed to you the reason behind it."

Marisa had paused for a moment to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to divulge; but seeing Lyra looking at her so expectantly had emboldened her to continue.

"I know you won't believe me, darling, but you are so like I was." Lyra instantly tensed, but said nothing.

"I too was a very outspoken and rebellious child who wasn't averse to bending the rules when it had suited me. A trait despised by my mother, who was a very strict woman," Marisa chuckled humorlessly. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺.

She looked down at her daemon for the first time since Lyra had come into the room. Not out of loathing this time, but something more akin to sorrow.

"When I would get into mischief with...𝘖𝘻𝘺𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘴...my mother would tell me that I was rotten right down to my very core. She had attributed the bad behavior to my connection with my daemon." The golden monkey was completely stupefied by his human. She had not said his name aloud or spoken of their childhood in many years. Mrs. Coulter ignored him as she forced herself to break eye contact with her daughter; too ashamed to face her judgement while she revealed the next part of her story.

"Consequently, her idea of a fitting punishment was to take my daemon between her hands and squeeze tightly; thinking this was the best way to set me straight. If my disobedience was stemming from my daemon's corruption, then it was her duty as my mother to put a stop to it, or so she would say." She shook her head at the shame of it all.

"And, just like my mother, I too had started to believe that physical reprimandation was how proper young ladies were educated. It wasn't until I had a daughter of my own and implemented this same form of discipline that I realized the graveness of my mistake."

Lyra could hardly believe what she was hearing. For the first time since she'd known her, her mother was finally sharing the details of her upbringing. Lyra repaid this display of vulnerability and honesty by relaxing her posture a bit in a show of mutual trust.

"My mother was wrong. 𝘐 was wrong. I never should've hurt you, Lyra. It's my job to protect you and instead I was the one to make you feel unsafe. Of all my atrocities, this is the one that will haunt me the most. I needn't ask your forgiveness, because I will never be able to forgive myself." Mrs. Coulter met her daughter's eyes once more; she wanted to make clear to her the authenticity of her admission.

The heartfelt apology hung in the air between them as Lyra stared at her in disbelief and perhaps a bit of sympathy. She was struggling to absorb this bombshell that her mother had dropped on her; trying to take in what it all meant for the future of their relationship. She decided that she wasn't quite ready to address her apology just yet, so Lyra simply said, "Your mother used to hurt your daemon?"

Mrs. Coulter nodded somberly, swiping a tear off her cheek in mild annoyance. "I began to see him as nothing more than a hindrance. Something that was influencing me into doing bad deeds and landing me into trouble. Reaching adulthood and learning of Dust did nothing to help matters. I became convinced that Dust was the root of all evil and it festers by infecting us through our daemons. I believed that the only way to avoid this sinful fate was to separate the two so that we might one day be innocent and pure once more. "It's all I wanted for you." She said tearfully. "To spare you that fate."

Just like her daughter, Mrs. Coulter had succumbed to her emotions despite her best efforts to keep them in check. Lyra had never seen her mother look so dishevelled; her eyes puffy with redness and her mouth turned down in an unflattering frown.

Lyra wrestled with herself in an attempt to come across as unconvinced. Try as she might, however, her mother could sense that she was starting to soften.

"I'm sorry that you had a bad childhood and that your head got messed up in the process," Lyra stated bluntly. "But that doesn't excuse what you've done to all those innocent people. 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘦."

Mrs. Coulter rose from her seated position just then, timing her movements carefully so as not to cause Lyra any alarm. Lyra instinctively recoiled as her mother came closer. Pan jumped out in front of her in a defensive position, growling up at Mrs Coulter in warning.

"I see that now, Lyra." Mrs. Coulter's voice trembled, her striking blue eyes brimming with tears. "It took having you hate me to finally realize how much I needed to change."

She stopped just in front of the girl, keeping her distance in an effort to respect Lyra's boundaries.

"I would do anything to turn back the clock and take all the pain I've caused you away. But for now, all I can do is try to show that going forward, I will do everything in my power to be a good mother to you."

Lyra seemed completely taken aback, as though she didn't know what to do with this revelation. This was everything she'd wanted to hear, but what if that was Mrs. Coulter's plan all along?

Her mother went on, seemingly unaware of her daughter's state of shock. "I've abandoned my career, my world, and everything I've built for myself in this life for one reason only. The moment you came back into my life I knew you were all that mattered to me. You made me want to be a better person, Lyra. Losing you made me realize that you are something I simply cannot live without. That is not and has never been a lie." She stared down at her daughter; eyes pleading with desperate hope for her to finally find it in her heart to trust her again.

The conflict raging in Lyra was now firing on all cylinders. All she wanted was to believe that deep down, her mother was a good person. But how could she know for sure? Could she risk giving her mother a second chance if it meant taking this huge leap of faith?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Will came charging back into the room.

"Lyra!" He screamed. "Come on, we need to go!" He ran the Subtle Knife through the air hurriedly, unzipping an opening into the world of Cittàgazze.

But Lyra was frozen to the spot, undecided on what to do with what her mother had told her. She had so much to process with such little time to do so.

"Lyra, we have to get out of here now!" Will yelled from the corner of the room, calling over to her from the edge of the opening.

Lyra temporarily blocked Will's beckonings out of her mind as she contemplated what she was going to do.

𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 she deserve a second chance? Lyra wasn't sure.

Does 𝘓𝘺𝘳𝘢 deserve a second chance at knowing and loving her mother?

Her eyes were still locked on her mother's as she deliberated her answer. Finally, in a wild and unpredictable rush of reckless abandon, she made her spur-of-the-moment decision. She was going to trust her heart this time.

"Come with us." She said suddenly, unable to believe the words spilling from her own mouth.

Marisa didn't know how to react; she was completely stunned. This wasn't at all what she'd had in mind when she set out on this quest to find her daughter. Her mission had always been to bring her home, not to accompany her on this world-jumping journey.

Not one to mince her words, Lyra simply said, "If you're really on my side and you only want to help, as you say, you'll come with us now."

Mrs. Coulter admired the brown-eyed little troublemaker who had stolen her heart. No one she'd ever known had power over her this way, that privilege had belonged only to her. Up until Lyra, she'd kept her heart under lock and key. And now... Now it was at the child's mercy, and completely vulnerable in the palm of her hand; beating only for her.

Marisa recalled the conversation she'd had with Asriel on that snowy mountain top in Svalbard the day he rocked the world. She had told him she couldn't join him on his journey because their child was in this world, and her place was with her.

Now here her child was, asking her to go with her into another world or watch her leave without her.

She had pledged to herself long ago that she wouldn't want to be in any world that Lyra wasn't in, so if this is what it took to keep that promise…

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵.

Marisa nodded resolutely, taking Lyra by surprise as she strode over to the girl and took her place at her side. The golden monkey took an extra second before trotting after her and joining the space beside Pan.

Mrs. Coulter laid a tender hand on her daughter's cheek, incredulous by the fact that Lyra not only didn't shrink away from her touch, but leaned into it softly. The woman was overjoyed to see her daughter's eyes no longer filled with hatred and disgust, but genuine trust and warmth; not unlike they had been the first day they'd met.

They still had a long way to go to repair the damage Mrs. Coulter had done to their relationship, but Lyra's mother was ready to spend a lifetime atoning for it to redeem herself in her daughter's eyes.

Way too soon, the moment was over as they turned to face the window together in unison. Marisa followed closely behind as Lyra and Will led her toward that iridescent gateway into another world.

As Lyra stepped though that blinding bright light steaming through the open window, she turned back and looked at her mother; a sincere smile spread across her face.

Marisa beamed at her in response as she made her way over to her and into the light.

It was the easiest decision she'd ever made.


End file.
